The Federal Government has directed hospitals nationwide to prepare isolation beds and strengthen infection prevention measures as part of efforts to contain the Ebola outbreak, warning that 15 states are yet to update their response plans.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Muhammad Pate, gave the directive in Abuja during a press briefing on the government’s response to the outbreak, saying health facilities had been instructed to make adequate provisions for suspected cases and protect frontline health workers.
Pate said the government was coordinating the national response through the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, with support from the World Health Organization and the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
He also urged private hospitals to promptly report suspected cases and called for the training and protection of health workers.
He added that the Federal Government had also informed the Federal Capital Territory authorities and would continue to engage state governments to ensure that hospitals under their jurisdictions were adequately prepared.
The directive comes as health authorities intensify contact tracing, surveillance and emergency preparedness following the confirmation of an imported Ebola case in the FCT, raising questions about the capacity of Nigeria’s health system to manage additional infections should the virus spread.
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